Media fallout from Rams' offensive resurgence

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kurtfaulk

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Love how these guys have xray vision and can see through nrc that there was no push off. You'd think one of them would say it might be a good idea to see it from a different angle. Bozos.

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Force16X

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I called it early season ... I'd search back through my posts but I can't be bothered

I haven't watched any of em ... but I bet it's along the lines of

Goff (and the Rams ) have talent ...fisher held em back
my good sir. after watching (several times) the Goff to Watkins looking upside down backwards into the night gem, "fisher held em back" is in the running for understatement of the year. :) i mean that in a good way. other than the game i watched with several others @ stlouis vs seattle, this is the most entertaining this team has been in easily a decade if not more. once phillips gets the 3-4 situation figured out with the players, teams wont look forward to seeing the Rams on their schedule anymore.
BTW, who's the dumbass in Buffalo that traded away Watkins, Woods and Goodwin ?? the board should send him a nice card for xmas.
this is the sammy watkins i remember watching at death valley and wishing somehow the Rams could draft him.
 

Zero

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What the hell is that supposed to imply? Didn't York just recently build Levi's Stadium, that was state of the art at the time, and have said stadium be the site of Superbowl 50?
It was supposed to imply "a joke"
 

ScotsRam

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Why are all American sports TV guys so SHOUTY all the time? Chill out dudes, seriously.
 

DaveFan'51

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I had to chuckle, in the 1st Video, Rob Ryan, commenting on How well the Rams O-Line, Because of there New coach from Buffalo, and there two new WR's, from Buffalo where doing so well. said " ... of course their doing well!" mocking Buffalo for letting them all go!
 

JonRam99

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Yeah man she's not the most attractive chick, kind of has a weird look to her but she's got some nasty goin on that more than makes up for it.
Love the dig she got on Shannon, "didn't you pick the Giants this year??" That's a woman for you, serving up disses, never forgets anything you say, lol
 

jap

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I'm totally shocked at that Skip and Shannon clip. Skip offering big praise. Rex Ryan acknowledging exactly what several of us especially @jrry32 has said countless times and that's the amazing coaching staff that McVay assembled. Shannon of course is cautious but he has valid comments and he even offered some compliments of Goff.

Why totally shocked? We've seen this turn about nonsense before in 1999. That's why I don't have much respect for these media guys with all their mindless drivel. I just want to see the SonOfBum get his defensive scheming all straightened out before we face the Cowboys so we can be a complete team.
 

Merlin

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #53
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...en-stats-goffled-rams-offense-growing-quickly

Next Gen Stats: Goff-led Rams offense growing quickly

  • 0ap3000000676586.jpg
  • By Matt Harmon
  • Associate Fantasy Writer/Editor
  • Published: Sept. 22, 2017 at 01:18 a.m.
  • Updated: Sept. 22, 2017 at 05:20 p.m.
The Los Angeles Rams are a new team. The signs were there in a blowout win over the Colts in Week 1 and maintained their presence even as the Rams fell to Washington in Week 2. Thursday, however, the new-look L.A. Rams announced to the national stage that they are a truly different entity.

The Rams held onto a wild 41-39 win over their similarly remade division rival San Francisco 49ers in what was the highest-scoring Thursday Night Football game to date. It seemed impossible to ever fathom this during the Jeff Fisher era, but the Rams have scored 40 points in two of their first three 2017 contests.

It all starts on offense for the Rams, specifically at the epicenter of their scoring attack. While Jared Goff floundered last year to a porous rookie season finish, he shined Thursday. If it wasn't clear already, we can cast blame on the previous Rams coaching staff for planting the seed of Goff's young career in soil simply not fertile for quarterback growth and development.

The relationship between Goff and Sean McVay, and the nurturing the new head coach provides, is apparent in the quarterback's fresh style of play. Last season, Goff led all quarterbacks with 25.4 percent of his passes going into tight windows (less than one yard of separation). So far in 2017, just 14.8 percent of his throws have gone into a tight window. Such an approach isn't unusual for a McVay quarterback. Kirk Cousins, who McVay coached in Washington, threw just 14.3 percent of his passes into tight windows in 2016, the second-lowest among starting quarterbacks.

The "McVay Effect" is a popular notion among those noting the Rams' turnaround on offense. If there was a quantifiable way to measure it, this is it. McVay's ability to spread the field and design layup throws for his quarterbacks keeps the offense moving in an efficient fashion. What's even better for the young coach is that his quarterback is showing an ability to deliver in even the high-leverage situations.

View image on Twitter
DKTLyI9UIAEc8L0.jpg:small



✔@MattHarmon_BYB

Jared Goff had a 143.8 passer rating in tight windows, best of his career.
17.9% of his attempts were a tight window throw #NextGenStats

Against the 49ers, 17.9 percent of Goff's throws went into tight windows and he posted a passer rating of 143.8, easily the best mark of his career to date. Behind an improved offensive line, we're seeing Goff avoid the mistakes he made in the past when the pass rush bears down. Goff registered the best passer rating of his career with a 118.8. The confidence he now plays with has unlocked a more downfield approach in the passing game. Goff averaged 8.0 air yards per completion Thursday, way up from the 5.5 average he posted as a rookie.

No question the development and growth of their franchise quarterback is the most welcomed sign the Rams could ask for. Yet, they must also be pleased with the improvements made by another former first-round pick.

Todd Gurley was expected to take his place near the top of the NFL's pantheon of running backs as this decade's Adrian Peterson after he scored 10 touchdowns in 13 games as a rookie in 2015. We all know the story didn't go that way in 2016. Gurley slumped to a sub 900-yard season on the ground as other young running backs like David Johnson and Ezekiel Elliott zoomed past.

Much like his quarterback, it appears Gurley's replanting in fertile soil provided the needed fix to put his career back on track. Neither the Colts or Redskins saw much need to dedicate extra resources to slow down the Rams back. In Weeks 1-2, Gurley saw eight-plus defenders in the box on just 14.3 percent of his carries. Tonight, he saw a stacked box on 50 percent. Even though some of them were in the red zone, Gurley ripped off 3.29 yards per carry against eight-plus defenders in the back, compared to 2.60 during Weeks 1 and 2.

View image on Twitter
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✔@MattHarmon_BYB
Todd Gurley averaged -0.1 yards per carry before a defender was within one yard of him in 2016, Averaged 1.3 yards tonight #NextGenStats

9:01 PM - Sep 21, 2017

Not many free-agent additions are so immediately impactful that it's noticeable. Yet, that's exactly what the Rams have in left tackle Andrew Whitworth. Between the former Bengals star locking down the blindside among more shuffling up front, an offensive line that made Gurley's job an impossible task in 2016 is now an asset. Gurley averaged a mere -0.1 yards before a defender was within one yard of him on his 2016 runs. Against the 49ers, he averaged 1.3 yards.

As the entire offense announced their presence to the NFL Network audience, one Ram made his own individual catwalk across the stage. Sammy Watkins was quiet in his first two games with Los Angeles, totaling just 88 yards. Watkins broke loose tonight with 106 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.

In his first two games as a Ram, Watkins just didn't get downfield. The skill he honed so well in Buffalo was nowhere to be found, as he averaged just 5.7 air yards per target. Watkins did what he did best Thursday and got vertical, averaging 12.4 air yards per target and hauled in a 40-plus deep reception.

View image on Twitter
DKTKPi6UIAA7eZZ.jpg:small

✔@MattHarmon_BYB
Sammy Watkins #NextGenStats:
- 4.8 yards of cushion at snap
- 2.6 average yards of separation on his targets
- Route chart
1f447.png


8:53 PM - Sep 21, 2017

Watkins' ability to be an easy separator despite being treated like a true No. 1 receiver was once again notable. The 49ers gave him an average cushion of just 4.8 yards at the line of scrimmage. Despite that tight coverage, Watkins shook free to average 2.6 yards of separation on his targets.

With Goff looking like a functional NFL quarterback, Gurley reestablishing career momentum and Watkins frightening defenders in the deep game, as McVay pulls the strings, it's time to take the Los Angeles Rams' offense seriously. Every metric in the Next Gen Stats arsenal shows this is a completely different entity than 2016's iteration. One of the NFL's most exciting new coaches in McVay is planting just the right seeds, and the Rams' own version of the triplets are sprouting.

Matt Harmon is a writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter @MattHarmon_BYB or like on Facebook.
 

Merlin

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #54
https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/9/21/16343152/jared-goff-los-angeles-rams-sean-mcvay

Don’t Look Now, but Jared Goff Is Starting to Figure It Out
The Rams QB had a disastrous rookie season, with many labeling him as a bust. Yet under the direction of Sean McVay’s staff, the no. 1 pick is showing signs of life—and giving L.A. a chance to compete.
BY ROBERT MAYS SEP 21, 2017, 9:45AM EDT TWEET
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Getty Images/Ringer illustration
For Trent Dilfer, the day the Rams hired Sean McVay as their head coach was cause for celebration. “I was thrilled to death,” the 14-year NFL veteran and former ESPN analyst says. That’s because Dilfer has known Los Angeles quarterback Jared Goff since 2012, when he was a high school passer invited to the Nike Elite 11 camp that Dilfer has run for the past seven years. As someone deeply invested in Goff’s football success, Dilfer viewed the chance for one of his pupils to work with the former Washington offensive coordinator as the best news imaginable. “[I told Jared,] ‘You do everything they ask you to do and more because you’re one of the lucky ones,’” Dilfer says. “You turned a shit sandwich into an ice cream cone just by who’s coaching you.”

The Rams traded nearly an entire year’s worth of draft capital to move up 14 spots and take Goff with the no. 1 overall pick in 2016. The former Cal standout spent the first nine games of his career backing up journeyman Case Keenum, but was thrust into action after Los Angeles opened last season 4-5, scored 10 points or fewer in five separate outings, and ran down the clock on Jeff Fisher’s head-coaching tenure. Then Goff’s debut proved disastrous. Since 2000, only 11 quarterbacks have finished a season with at least 200 attempts and a lower amount of yards per attempt than Goff’s 5.31. The Rams lost all seven games in which he started, being outscored 221-85. Fisher was fired in December, and many wrote Goff off as a lost cause.

are at all-time highs in part because of the uptick in short, simple throws built into offenses. “[The quarterback] doesn’t have to read a defense,” Dilfer says. “They don’t have to handle anything complex. They just play catch. And that’s not a criticism. It’s great! You need that.”

Those throws were largely missing from Goff’s repertoire as a rookie. This year, he’s already had plenty incorporated into the playbook.

As a play designer, McVay does his best to present quarterbacks with easy throws by exploiting the alignment of receivers and playing their routes off one another. Through two games this fall, the Rams have consistently used formations that feature two wideouts bunched to the same side of the field. This was a staple of both McVay’s offense in Washington and the system that LaFleur helped lead as the former quarterbacks coach in Atlanta. The tight spacing allows the receivers to create instant separation at the line of scrimmage, easing Goff’s burden as both a decision-maker and a passer.

If Goff identifies the opposing defense’s coverage—either before the snap or early in the down—he can take advantage of quick, ready-made throws that are part of the fabric of McVay’s approach. But sometimes Goff still looks like a quarterback with nine games of NFL starting experience. By misreading a defense or not fully trusting the system, he can sabotage plays that should otherwise stand a chance. His crushing late-game pick in a 27-20 loss to Washington in Week 2 represented the worst-case scenario, but there are subtler examples of Goff struggling to acclimate, too. When he fails to use proper footwork to time his release of the ball, plays around him can start to collapse.

The Rams have tried to further streamline Goff’s thinking with a heavy dose of play-action. According to Pro Football Focus, Goff used play-action on just 14.1 percent of his dropbacks as a rookie—the second-lowest rate in the NFL—yet improved his passer rating by more than 21 points when using a play fake. Washington used play-action at about a league-average rate under McVay, while LaFleur comes from a Kyle Shanahan scheme that used it on a league-high 27 percent of dropbacks in the team’s run to the Super Bowl.

Through two weeks, the Rams have leaned on play-action throws as the centerpiece of their passing game, and they’ve provided Goff with the cleanest throws he’s had as a pro. His conviction when making them is the best indicator to date that he’s gaining the confidence that Olson imagined, and the offense’s commitment to play-action has been made more effective by L.A.’s bevy of offseason reinforcements. General manager Les Snead signed left tackle Andrew Whitworth and center John Sullivan to shore up the line and added Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Sammy Watkins to revamp his roster’s receiving corps. Then there’s Everett, the tight end out of South Alabama who’s already showcased his skills as a deep threat.

“You’ve got to be able to present five different eligible options for the defense to defend in the passing game,” Dilfer says of NFL offenses. “Sean does a great job, like he did in Washington, of creating pass plays where you have four or five [options].”

The most important change among Goff’s supporting cast, though, might be the revitalization of the guy behind him in the backfield. The Rams finished dead last in Football Outsiders’ rushing DVOA in 2016; after two games in 2017, running back Todd Gurley has shown some of the juice that made him a revelation as a rookie. Gurley couldn’t get much going on the ground in a season-opening win over the Colts, but McVay still made a point of getting him the ball in a variety of ways. Gurley already has eight catches this fall after tallying 43 in all of 2016. Like a struggling 3-point basketball shooter who finds his stroke after hitting a free throw, a toiling back can get going after notching a touch in the open field. Following Gurley’s 136-total-yard performance in last Sunday’s loss to Washington, the Rams’ hope is that he’s found his stride and will be able to give Goff a number of easy looks.

Entering Thursday night’s matchup against the 49ers (0-2), Goff and the Rams remain a work in progress. Yet on the heels of last season’s bleak outlook, progress should be a welcome sight. The difference between Goff’s play this season and last is proof of just how much a staff and system can mean to a young quarterback. The Rams hope that this is just the start.

“So far, he’s done a lot of good things, but he still has a long way to go,” Olson says. “And he’d be the first guy to tell you that. He’s nowhere near where we’re hoping to get to.”
 

Leuzer

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Skip: "Before the year started, I looked at my Cowboys schedule and I get down to L.A. Rams and I go 'Well that's a W; that's an easy one!' and now..."


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPyaLW4s81Y


I've never watched Undisputed before, nor am I a fan of Skip & Shannon (and Rob for that matter), but I am a :homer: and I do love that the media is beginning to notice our resurgence.
 

UKram

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The Rams traded nearly an entire year’s worth of draft capital to move up 14 spots and take Goff with the no. 1 overall pick in 2016.

this is my biggest bug bear ... the MSM act like we pulled an RGIII type trade to get Goff ,,and its simply not true .. we are out from under the trade ... i think all we are missing this year is the 2nd we traded for Sammy ... and id do that deal over and over again
 

Merlin

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this is my biggest bug bear ... the MSM act like we pulled an RGIII type trade to get Goff ,,and its simply not true .. we are out from under the trade ... i think all we are missing this year is the 2nd we traded for Sammy ... and id do that deal over and over again

So would I. Things have worked out pretty well for us too.

What's funny though is even the Skins weren't sunk by that trade. Everyone talks about first round picks like they're so valuable, or that missing on a QB sets a franchise back years, but the Skins demonstrate that the more important thing is having a good staff that can develop. You can win and build even without round one picks if you have a good staff and front office that's on the same page.

Makes me think that for this day and age having a good teaching offensive staff is critical. And the only way to ensure you can hold onto a top offensive mind is to hire him as HC. Just so glad the Rams wrapped McVay up man. It's gonna be a great ride for us.